from very good to excellent. (They stifled NO, with its high-scoring offense, with 5.5 sacks, two interceptions and constant pressure on Brees.

And yes, Kaepernick is essentially still a rookie but defensive coordinators will have plenty to consider when preparing against his abilities. One thing that impressed me Sunday was how well Kaep dealt with the deafening noise in the Superdome. He looked like he knew what to do out there.

I would hate to be any team that has the Giants in their path on their way to the Superbowl but teams are not going to be clamoring to face the 49ers either.